Ankara set to host trilateral Balkan talks, eyes breaktrough

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will have a trilateral meeting with his Bosnian and Serbian counterparts Sven Alkalaj Vuk Jeremic in Ankara today, marking the fifth such trilateral meeting between the diplomats. In October, on the sidelines of a ministerial-level meeting of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), Davutoglu brought together Jeremic and Alkalaj in Istanbul for their first trilateral meeting, and gatherings in İstanbul, Sarajevo and Belgrade followed. Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, has held the SEECP's chairmanship-in-office since June. Today's meeting in Ankara is expected to lead to concrete steps between the parties as part of confidence-building measures. At the December meeting in Sarajevo, the three foreign ministers reached a consensus on steps to be taken for the reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina, drawing up an action plan for these steps. At the time, Davutoglu, Alkalaj and Jeremic reached an agreement on specific points, such as meeting more frequently, intensifying Bosnia and Herzegovina's relations with neighboring countries, and the fair representation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in international organizations. Tension among Muslims, Serbs and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been brewing for some time over power-sharing disputes, and calls for secession by Serbs and Croats are growing louder. Turkey wants all parties to pay great attention to the issue, as Bosnia and Herzegovina are set to hold national elections in October.